Heavy rain for South Island as wild weather hits

Photo / Otago Daily Times

The heavens opened on Dunedin this afternoon, bringing thunder and pelting the city with hail as more wild weather hits the country this summer.

The Dunedin public library was evacuated and reports are coming in of other buildings affected by flooding.

The Fire Service is being kept busy attending false alarms triggered by the downpour and minor flooding.

New Zealand was getting a mixed bag of weather today, ranging from sweltering heat in the north, to rain and wild winds elsewhere.

Parts of the South Island experienced heavy rain, including Dunedin, North Otago and Fiordland. The Westland Ranges could get up to 140mm.

Gale-force winds with gusts up to 120km/h were whipping parts of central New Zealand. In Wellington, inner harbour ferry sailings were cancelled this morning, due to strong winds.

At the same time, eastern and northern regions of the North Island were set to swelter with temperatures in the mid-30s as air from Australia's heatwave causes havoc with our weather.

Today could be a test for the Dunedin drainage systems after several hours of torrential rain.

— Dene (@mackersline) February 12, 2017

MetService issued a number of weather warnings across the country.

Severe gales were expected from Marlborough to Wairarapa, including Tararua with damaging winds of up to 140km/h possible.

In the North Island the Tararua Range was expected to come in for yet another summer deluge, with up to 180mm falling by the afternoon.